Organisational culture and structure as mechanisms for the reduction of human behavioural variability at the Merged Faculty of Education of the University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN)

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Organisational culture and structure as mechanisms for the reduction of human behavioural variability at the Merged Faculty of Education of the University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN)

Mbele, Zuko

2008-03

The merger of organisations has been extensively utilised in many industries. This has
occurred globally and locally. Some mergers have become successful while others have
failed to achieve their goals. The failure of mergers could be attributed to insufficient
attention to certain organisational elements. When institutions merged, they become
vulnerable to diversity and conflict. They also experience human variability.
Organisational mergers present challenges that could be associated with humanity. This
could be precipitated by various beliefs, values and norms. Conflict and diversity could
be reduced by implementing certain organisational elements.
This study is based on the developments of structure and culture as remedial
organisational elements to reduce instability in merged institutions. These elements serve
as mechanisms in dealing with the repercussions of the merger. The special focus of this
study is higher education mergers. The primary objective is to gain an insight into the
ramification and the impact of the merger. This includes the effectiveness of the newly
designed internal processes. In accomplishing this, the study has applied a cultural and
structural model to merged institutions. It has also examined various types of culture and
structural literature theory extensively. From this it has discovered that these elements
play a crucial role in reducing organisational conflict in mergers. It has also been found
that merger consequences are less severe in organisations with similar backgrounds.